December 2006 Archives

22/12/06 - Specifications Comparison Entry

I have created a randomly generating entry page to the side-by-side satellite navigation specifications page.

As I have 414 products in my database as of today, the factorial equates to infinity combinations. Just imagine coding that into static pages!

The solution is to create a page that changes regularly - well every time it is visited. More

20/12/06 - Enlarged Images Tutorial

Pop up boxes are dead.

They have been for a while. Replaced now with Ajax based creations and DHTML popups.

At the request of a few visitors, here is a tutorial on implementing Lightbox JS 2. More

19/12/06 - Change To Google AdSense Terms

Google have clarified their position on using images with Google AdSense.

Certain Internet Marketers have profited from telling people to put small pictures around their ads. However, the Google AdSense team have now said that this is no longer acceptable under their terms of usage. This means that if you continue to do this, your Google AdSense account could be suspended.

I would love to name names and give you URLs but I shall not. Instead I will show you pictures! More

18/12/06 - Rolling Out The Ajax Navigation

Some of you have been in contact letting me know that only half my site uses the new Ajax menu.

This is a problem I am fully aware of and it should be sorted by the end of today.

The new menu looks significantly better than the old menu though it does have one problem - it has no memory. More

17/12/06 - A Move To Ajax Navigation

It has been a very busy day indeed!

Finding out my existing navigation was browser specific was a little disheartening. However, I would like to introduce you to a new solution:

Ajax Navigation

Let me explain more. More

17/12/06 - Navigation Bar Browser Compatibility Issues

Thank you to Adrian who today informed me there was a glitch with Internet Explorer 6.

As I use Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7, I thought all was well when it worked in both.

Obviously not!

But this has a knock on effect. More

14/12/06 - Menu Has Been Re-Built

The menu has now been rebuilt and all the advertisers have been added.

I have just had news that one more, well known high street retailer is coming on board so those links should be up tonight.

I am now moving on to add more functionality as everything has very much centred around the Price Tapestry script. before I do, I will post a few more lectures on the logic of using a price comparison PHP script, SEO woes and so forth.

At this point, I would appriciate suggestions on what you would like me to cover in more depth. More

14/12/06 - Compare Sat Nav Navigation

I must admit that there have been a lot of changes on Compare Sat Nav recently.

More advertisers have been added (I am currently on 19 retailers) and there is one more to be added.

The last couple of advertisers I added sell systems that most of the others do not so I need to update the menu as these have not yet been added to the navigation.

I also changed the navigation yesterday. On an 800 x 600 browser setting, the bottom of the menu was chopped off! That is not very good in all honesty! More

12/12/06 - Website Legal Issues

In the age that we live in, legal action has become more prevalent.

So it is only right that you stay one step ahead of any lawsuits by complying with the law.

There are three types of document you will need to make a website sound: More

11/12/06 - Ajax Suggestion Tutorial

I said in a previous post that it would be great if the site could suggest sat nav systems to the visitor when they type in the search bar.

So, if they start typing "To" for TomTom, they would be presented with a list of various TomTom models.

Ajax is the new JavaScript and has come back with a vengeance! More

11/12/06 - Website Visitor Psychology

I love tweaking my sites. The fun of it is making little changes and watching the effects.

Not all changes are good though. Most websites change regularly. For example, Yahoo Mail is launching a new website interface for it's webmail users. I have tried it and quickly reverted back to the old interface. Why?

People are afraid of change.

This is a big consideration when you build a website. You need to get it structurally sound before you start building else you run the risk of losing visitors - and search engines. More

09/12/06 - Website Intergration Has Begun

Just a quick note to let you know that the price comparison feature has now been linked up.

The menu options are still a bit haphazard but that should be sorted soon as I start to add content to the site.

Take a look at the main site at http://www.comparesatnav.co.uk and then look at http://dbfcs.co.uk/shop/sat_nav/

Why not try and spot the difference?! More

09/12/06 - Satellite Navigation Logo

I told you it would happen!

I have changed the logo and colour scheme.

Since the site is built using a CSS file, changing the colours and layout is relatively easy as changes made to this file are made throughout the site.

So what does the new logo look like? More

08/12/06 - Technical Aspects

I am not entirely sure who I am writing for, so let me clarify who I think you are.

You are interested in making money on the Internet. You have very little time available to develop a website so you need to know shortcuts. You need to know what works and what doesn't t avoid wasting precious time.

I would like to think you know a bit about PHP and MySQL. Not so much an 'expert' in it, but you understand what makes it tick and you know how to do things like install scripts on your web server, customise them, etc.

I shall soon be revealing some in depth details about what software I use, etc. That is the kind of information you need. However, you also need a demonstration of what it can do so that is why I am holding back. More

04/12/06 - Compare Sat Nav Site Plan

I always start a site with a plan. A basic, very rough, line drawing of the site I intend to build.

I sketch out blocks of content and use these to code the site.

Pictures come afterwards. So essentially, I create a text based site and fill it up as I progress. More

04/12/06 - Site Layout

My aim is to get www.comparesatnav.co.uk up and running very soon. Hopefully by the end of the week, perhaps the end of next, but definitely by Christmas.

So what am I going to have on the site?

To get the niche searches, I need product information on every satellite navigation system available in the UK at the moment. So I need to firstly have an index of all the satellite navigation systems available and then for each of these, I need a product information page.

I need a price comparison feature so I will need XML or CSV product feeds from retailers. There are usually free on most affiliate networks though only some retailers offer these. More

04/12/06 - Comfortable? Let Us Begin!

The names www.comparesatnav.co.uk and www.satnavreviews.co.uk have been registered and are now ready to work on.

The most important lesson here is plan before you work.

What is the point of doing lots of work now to find out we have to start all over again when we get half way through.

There are several stages to building a money making website: More

01/12/06 - Logo Development

This website has no logo. Well, that is not strictly true.

The pink jigsaw is more or less the logo. Why is it a missing jigsaw piece and why is it pink?

I think the pink works well alongside grey and white. There are loads of blue and green sites but very few pink. Plus bright pink is memorable. I don't think you can forget this site quickly.

The missing jigsaw piece is supposed to represent "putting it all together". This website is hopefully the mechanism for putting all your efforts together and creating a site.

So what about Compare Sat Nav then? What should the logo look like? More